The number of nurses from the EU registering to practise in the UK has dropped by 90 per cent since the referendum on Brexit last year.
Figures from the Health Foundation and a Freedom of Information request to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) showed that 1,100 EU nurses came to work in the UK since last April, but this fell to 46 EU nurse registrants in April of this year.
Statistics show that almost half of care workers leave their job within a year due to poor employment terms, low pay, lack of training and lack of opportunities for career progression.
Anita Charlesworth, director of research and economics at the Health Foundation, said:-
“The recruitment and retention of nurses is one of the biggest challenges facing health and social care, with a shortage of 30,000 nurses in England alone.
The drop in EU nurses registering to work in the UK could not be more stark – just 46 registered to work in the UK in April. Without EU nurses it will be even harder for the NHS and other employers to find the staff they need to provide safe patient care. The findings should be a wake-up call to politicians and health service leaders.”
